Fused connector

ABSTRACT

Fused connector only allowing access to the fuses when the terminals are not live. A piston locks a sliding cover or prevents the connector from being put in position. The connector may be used in conjunction with prefabricated electric wirings having a plurality of plugs arranged along their length.

United States Eatent Joly 1 Aug. 27, 1974 [541 FUSED CONNECTOR 2,636,096 4/1953 Blasi 339/159 X [75] Inventor: Jea J ly, Houmes, France 2,654,074 9/1953 Lancelot 339/92 M X [73] Assignee: La Telemecanique, Nanterre, Primary E i Rj h d E Moore France Attorney, Agent, or Firm-William Anthony Drucker [22], Filed: Nov. 1, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 302,740 ABSTRACT Fused connector only allovving access to the fuses 52 us. (:1. 339/147 P, 339/92 R, 339/208 when the termmals are not 1W9. [51] Int. Cl H0lr 13/68 A piston locks a sliding cover or prevents the [58] Field Of Search 339/79, 82, 92, 14 P, 45, connector from being put in position.

339/147 208 The connector may be used in conjunction with prefabricated electric wirings having a plurality of [56] References cued plugs arranged along their length.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,141,225 12/1938 Rossmann 292/010. 65 5 3 Drawmg Flgures I I I 25 f V/ F 1 H5 12 A i z 1: 1| 1 I FUSEII) CONNECTOR The invention relates to a fused connector of the type designed simultaneously to provide a connection to an electric feeder line and protection of the equipment connected by means of a set of fuses removably incorporated in the case.

Such connectors can, in particular, be used in conjunction with prefabricated electric wiring comprising a certain number of plugs arranged along its length, in order to allow easy, removable connection of machinery or equipment situated nearby.

Already known are fused connectors comprising a case fitted with connecting terminals and contact pins, between which the fuse cartridges are connected, to which access is only possible when they are no longer live, due to the use of safety devices which depend on the open and closed positions of the lid which closes the case and allows or prevents access to the cartridges.

In a known type of device, the lid is fitted pivotally and carries safety contacts which insert into the line between the cartridges and the contact pins. I

These devices have the defect that careless users are able to replace the safety contacts with other conductors, so that there may still be a risk of electrocution.

From a kinematic point of view, such a solution is expensive to the extent to which the hinge or the safety contacts have to be perfectly positioned if the lid and the line are to be closed correctly.

Finally, the possibility that the lid may rotate from the effect of draughts or its own weight makes it essential either to provide auxiliary means of fixing the lid in an open position or physical positioning so that the effect of gravity is oriented in the direction of opening, which limits the fitting possibilities.

It is an object of the invention to provide a perfectly safe fused connector made up of simple components, the construction of which leaves room for no functional hazards.

At the same time, the invention aims at making a connecting device wherein steps are taken to ensure that any attempt to introduce the pins into the feeder point when the lid is open is met by increased clamping of the components affected by this movement.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a connector wherein this result is achieved due to the fact that the fuse cartridges are arranged parallel to the plane of the lid, which consists of a slide which moves perpendicularly to the direction of introduction of the pins and that the locking device, situated in the case near the pins and moving when they are introduced, can cooperate, in two perpendicular directions, with two successive stop components situated on the inside face of the lid.

In accordance with a complementary characteristic representing a preferred form of the invention, the locking device consists of a mobile projection returned by a resilient component in a direction close to that of the introduction of the pins and whose inside end is either housed in a blind hollow in the lid when the latter is closed or rests on a rib belonging thereto when it is open.

Other peculiarities and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the following description and the attached drawing:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section view of a connector in accordance with the invention, and

FIGS. 2 and 3 show two sectional side views along the lines XX and YY' respectively.

The case of the device is designated in FIG. 1 by the reference 2. It mainly contains a certain number of contact pins such as 3, and connecting terminals such as 4. These components are extended by flexible clips 13, between which a fuse cartridge 5 is placed for each feeder line.

Near the pins 3 there is a locking component which, in the example illustrated, takes the form of a sliding piston 8 returned in the direction of the arrow F, which corresponds to the direction of introduction of the pins, by a resilient component such as a spring 9. At its inside end, this piston is fitted with a head 12 which is shown here in its at rest position.

A lid 1 (see also FIGS. 2 and 3) closes the top part of the connector and takes the form of a slide moving in the direction of the arrow G, FIG. 1. Opposite the head 12 of the piston 8 there is a blind hollow 10 in the inside face of the lid, whose position and inside dimension allow the piston to slide in the opposite direction to arrow F.

The inside face 14 of the lid has, on that part of its length which is situated between the hollow 10 and the end from which the lid is engaged, a rib 11 which can also be seen in FIG. 3; when the lid is not in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, this rib comes opposite the head 12 of the piston.

A screw 7 for fixing the unit is fitted in the lid in such a way that it cannot get lost and inserts into a housing 17 in the case when the lid is closed (FIG. 3).

The end of the case of the device corresponding to the side from which the lid engages is fitted with two clips 16 whose rigidity does not completely exclude some degree of flexibility, which allows them to bend when the lid is put in position under the effect of two protuberances l5 acting as bolts and preventing subsequent removal.

It can be seen, particularly in FIG. 2, that the lid 1 is guided by two side rails 20, 21, whose profile makes sideways removal impossible without the risk of breakage.

A cable-clamp 6 at the opposite end to the pins and a wall 25 serve at the same time as a stop to make the lateral seal between the lid and the case.

The working of the locking component is clear when one considers what happens when the connector is put in position on the feeder point. During this movement, which is made in the direction of the arrow F the piston 8 is pushed back in the opposite direction by the body of the point and its head 12 enters into the hollow 10. This movement can only have taken place if the piston can move freely, which is the case when the lid is in the closed position.

Assuming now that the lid is open, a portion of the rib 11 will come in front of the head 12, so that complete penetration of the pins in the direction F and the presence of a voltage at the terminals which results therefrom, are prevented. If attempts are made to force this penetration, we see that the rib 11, which has a considerable moment of inertia, transmits the strains it receives to the lid and the guide rails 20, 21. Due to the shape given to the latter, slight deformation of the lid results in clamping of the rails which prevents sideways opening.

Once the connector is in position, the head 12 of the piston, which has gone into the hollow 10, prevents the lid from opening in the direction G in which the lid slides, which is perpendicular to direction F.

This connector device thus has all the features needed to'provide great safety.

It is obvious that variations could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, the lid could take the form of a rotating slide pivoting around an axis parallel to direction F and the piston could be slightly slanted in relation to the direction of introduction of the pins. The lid could moreover be returned by springs to its closed position.

I claim:

1. Fused connector comprising a case (2) having a bottom part, contact pins (3) and connecting terminals (4) mounted on said bottom part, fuses (5) located inside the case and connecting the contact pins to the connecting terminals, a lid (1) cooperating with the case and movable with respect to the case in a first di rection from closed to open position, the lid having an inner wall (14) provided with a recess and with a rib ll), locking means attached to said bottom part, said locking means having a first part (8) movable inwardly of the case in a second direction which is parallel to the contact pins and a second part (12) movable within the case substantially at right angles to the first direction, the second part (12) being mounted for penetrating into the recess (10) when the lid (1) is in closed position and for abutting against the 11b (11) when the lid (1) is in open position.

2. Fused connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lid (1) is mounted for sliding along the said first direction, which is substantially at right angles to the said second direction, the rib (1 1) being substantially parallel to the first direction.

3. Fuse connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means is a piston slidably mounted in said bottom part, with a first part (8) located near the contact pins, spring means (9) cooperating with the piston for returning the second part (12) out of the recess (10).

4. Connector in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the lid 1 is guided by a system of rails 20, 21 shaped for providing a clamping action when pressure is exerted from the inside of the lid on the rib 11.

5. Connector in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the lid has at one end a first side wall 25 which rests on a first end of the case and a second wall 26 which rests on a cable-clamp 6 situated at the other end of the case. 

1. Fused connector comprising a case (2) having a bottom part, contact pins (3) and connecting terminals (4) mounted on said bottom part, fuses (5) located inside the case and connecting the contact pins to the connecting terminals, a lid (1) cooperating with the case and movable with respect to the case in a first direction from closed to open position, the lid having an inner wall (14) provided with a recess (10) and with a rib (11), locking means attached to said bottom part, said locking means having a first part (8) movable inwardly of the case in a second direction which is parallel to the contact pins and a second part (12) movable within the case substantially at right angles to the first direction, the second part (12) being mounted for penetrating into the recess (10) when the lid (1) is in closed position and for abutting against the rib (11) when the lid (1) is in open position.
 2. Fused connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lid (1) is mounted for sliding along the said first direction, which is substantially at right angles to the said second direction, the rib (11) being substantially parallel to the first direction.
 3. Fuse connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means is a piston slidably mounted in said bottom part, with a first part (8) located near the contact pins, spring means (9) cooperating with the piston for returning the second part (12) out of the recess (10).
 4. Connector in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the lid 1 is guided by a system of rails 20, 21 shaped for providing a clamping action when pressure is exerted from the inside of the lid on the rib
 11. 5. Connector in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that the lid has at one end a first side wall 25 which rests on a first end of the case and a second wall 26 which rests on a cable-clamp 6 situated at the other end of the case. 